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Tag: Comedy

I asked my dad, who knows everything

Published by NiteMayr on June 27, 2008

On George Carlin:

Hes average, personally i like Chris Rock, Eddy Murphy and Russel Peters most. Never heard of him until he died and i even asked my dad, who knows most bigger comedians and he had never heard of him.

Feel free to link me to some of his good stuff, his 7 swearwords stuff was pretty…. average.

Nobbeh – who is level 44

I know my Dad, he knows football (the good kind), nuclear maintainence, 60s and 70s rock and pop, safety regulations, union politics and a bit about almost every other subject.  I wouldn’t go posting on the internet about how I asked my dad (who is not a bona fide authority on anything) about said subject.  I might say that I looked around some comedy blogs or science manuals or whatever, but not “I asked Dad, he says get stuffed“.

I am a Dad too.  I pretend to know everything sometimes too.  However, I like to think that I’ll admit when I’m stumped.  I don’t want my kids or neices and nephews to think they can use me as an authority on anything save what I’m an expert on, and even then I’d like to think they’d lie and use a euphamism like “I asked a professional asshole, and he says you’re part of the club” or “I know an expert in social dissasspointment, he says that if you sucked any more at being in relationships you’d be looking to on Henry the 8th memoirs for advice”

Or something like that.

MUST. RESIST. TEMPTATION. TO. DEFEND. COMEDIAN

Published by NiteMayr on June 24, 2008

When Myers appeared on “The Daily Show,” the comedian seemed genuinely upset that Jon Stewart didn’t let him set up the unfunny clip of his film. There’s something so cloying about Myers these days — it’s as if he thinks if he repeats a joke often enough, he will wear down the audience into laughing. And his kind of movie — the silly, based-on-a-skit type — seems slightly archaic in the post-“Superbad,” “Knocked Up” world, which feature characters who feel real.

Mike Myers: The antifunny?

Ack! I want to defend Mike Myers so much.  He’s a big boy, so he can stand for himself I’m sure.  I just hate when a comedian gets on the “not funny now” list like this.  It would be different if this column hadn’t pointed at Superbad and Knocked up as examples of with it comedy; then I’d have let this pass unmolested.  But to point to Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill and say “THEY ARE THE FUTURE OF COMEDY” is just wrong.

Over ten years of Kevin Smith wrong.

I liked both of these movies, just like I liked a bunch of other foul-mouthed dick and fart joke movies.  I like dick and fart jokes and can’t deny it.  I also like stupid accents and physical comedy.  Mike Myers has embraced what makes him funny and people have decided “so what else is new?”  Jim Carrey faced this when he tried to put his brand of humor into established places and failed (which made the whole cat in the hat thing kind of puzzling to me really)  Mr. Carrey tried to turn what had made “Fire Marshal Bill” “My, Myself & Irene” funny into something that could pass from movie to movie; forgetting the humanity that the Characters were hapless losers that won out in the end.

Mr. Myers might want to stretch himself more in the future though, as it appears he is going to be castigated for doing what television sitcoms do for years on end, giving the audience more of the same with the same cast and so on.  This afflicts a bunch of comedians, and kind of seperates the comedy fans from the deliatants, the die hards will accept more of the same if it is still funny and the masses just want something new and possibly shocking. Which is why “I don’t want to offend you…” by Bobcat Goldwaith was a hit with standup fans and no more than a blip on the radar of the general public.  It was more of the same, but the delivery and material was so great, who cares that you knew all the punchlines?

I like to think of great comedy like I think of great music, you can hear the same phrases and motions over and over and still enjoy it.  Sometimes you can find new textures and flavours in it.  I think that Mr. Myers has tried to put a new spin on an old act and found people don’t want a new spin, they just want new.

George Carlin was Alive and now He is Dead

Published by NiteMayr on June 23, 2008

“The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it’s all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition,” Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview

In a typical wry response, Carlin said: “Thank you Mr. Twain. Have your people call my people.”

Carlin told The Associated Press this year he was “perversely kind of proud” to be “a footnote in American legal history.”

Few Comedians will have the balls and chutzpah that George Carlin carried around in his pants, his stuff was portable and palatable. At times he seethed with loathing for the trappings of society, struggling to suffocate the failings of others in prosaic language and invective. Other times you could see that he wanted so much for us to understand his world view that he was a wits end trying to use crude language (crude in the sense of imprecise for the task, not crude as in vulgar) to express his point of view.

George Carlin was a man of the monologue, streaming hours of precise and cutting commentary or just sputtering vituperation at his audience.  The only real tradgedy of Carlin’s work is that the people who stood the gain the most from it, his targets, were likely to be the selfsame people who would ignore or overlook it as brash, uncooth or un-pc.

I think we might see, over the coming days a number of groups trying to claim Mr. Carlin’s Corpse for their own, whatever stripe they may wear.  They will look at his death as an opportunity to say that he was in in their Camp, shaman of their particular tribe as it were.  I think George would have said it best, “go fuck yourself!” he was his own man and walked his own path, wearing only his own stripes and speaking only his own words.

Good-bye, you crazy hippy.  May you rot in the earth and fertilize a lawn or two.

At least teh Graphs ar amozing

Published by NiteMayr on June 16, 2008

GameSpot:Video Games PC Xbox 360 PS3 Wii PSP DS PS2 PlayStation 2 GameCube GBA PlayStation 3

6 graphs, i wonder in what crappy pc and what vga he used as you can see in the screenshots the graphs are FAR better than brother in arms that came at the same date so tell me look at the screenshots and tell me which one looks better? hell this game got good physiques if you blow something up it will break , and boxes and corpses will fly on the air, juddgin by this game good perfomance and ageia physx high requirements fo the same physiques while i think those were amazing , eg brother in arms came out at th same time but it didnt even have physiques!, bulletholes are cool too!

Holy Cow, this anti-review needs a dramatic reading!

Shorthand for the literate reader:
graphs = graphics
vga = resolution
physiques = physics or perhaps “a physics engine”

Wow, this guy is serious. I thought at first he was some sort of sock puppet for the game’s (Psychotoxic) producers. I think I am wrong, this is just an emphatic fan.

If I remember, I will have to sit down and record this as a dramatic reading; it’s GOLD!

Notes for Presenters

Published by NiteMayr on May 13, 2008

After 10 Years at Symantec and a few here and there; I’ve amassed a fair bit of corporate culture and spread a bit of my own.

Thus with tongue in cheek (and sometimes not) I give some advice for presenters gleaned from a series of Train the Trainer sessions

  • Personal introductions by the participants are pointless and wasteful. Never mind the inevitable oneupmanship that comes parcel with such round-the-room games:

    Office Drone 1: I’ve been wasting employer dollars in fruitless training sessions for 5 years!
    Office Drone 2: Oh yeah!?!? I’ve been doing nothing but roll paper coronets at my desk for over a decade!
    Office Drone 3: Oh YEAH!!??! I’m having sex with Ms. Johnson’s daughters and that’s how I got that corner office...

    Constructive Alternative: Instead of dedicating X (varying) amount of time to your “group building” activity, introduce yourself noting why you are presenting today, explain what you are presenting and set out a time line for the Presentation including breaks and lunches (if needed)

  • Consider your audience, if they are a homogeneous group of people (all from the same basic background and experience, tailor your language and pacing for them) if it is a heterogeneous group from varying backgrounds or experience, aim for the middle and not the bottom.

    Side Note: When tailoring your speech or documents for the general public you are encouraged to mete out your information in easy to understand, spoon-fed portions. In a professional office everyone is expected to have a high-school diploma and the reading comprehension skills that accompany such accolades. Speak to your audience as if they can think, breath and chew gum at the same time.

  • Be flexible and Gracious. You are speaking to adults, while they are expected to behave in certain ways one can always anticipate one troublemaker who will either through callousness, egotism or sheer lack of ability pull down an entire class. If things get out of hand take the troublesome person aside and either have a polite discussion about appropriate behavior for professionals (without saying anything like that) or possibly asking them to keep careful notes of their concerns for a post-presentation email.

    Anecdote: I’m a fairly energetic and entertaining presenter, I’ve been told on numerous occasions that when I am “on” I am engaging and entertaining as well as super-informative. I’m also aware that if I am put off-track I can been boorish and overbearing. My personal lesson is to remember that the whole audience needs to hear what I am saying, becoming sidetracked by single individuals or problems brings the whole Presentation down.

  • No Matter how funny you think you are being, you do not laugh for your own jokes. If you must make jokes, real jokes, then pause for laughter only if there is any.

    Comedy: It’s all about …
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….
    ….

    timing!

  • Don’t sell your work by telling us about the creation process of the Presentation or self-aggrandize in your presentation; you had an opportunity to do that when you introduced yourself, save the self-praise for when you get the job done and you are “rewarding yourself”

    Yes, it is a euphemism.

  • Do not defer to your audience for answers if you do not know them, it may make you seem more approachable; but in the long run it undermines audience confidence. If you don’t know, ask for a follow-up email or promise the same.
  • Purge your vocal tics elsewhere, If I have to hear you say “right?” “Man” “cool?” “okay” or “You get me?” from another presenter I might actually have to “get” one.
  • If your audience is bored or tired, be energetic and engaging, not manic and demanding.
  • Work out your education theories elsewhere. Unless the audience is their to be educated, you are simply a presenter. Give the basic information, give detailed notes they can take home and no more. There is no need to be detailed in your presentation unless you are actually imparting knowledge that needs to be fully retained.

    Constructive Advice: Run your presentation in brief by your spouse or room mate. If they get bored, it is too long or it does not engage them. If they are not in your target audience, find someone who is and run your presentation by them. Repeat until you have informed and not bored your audience.

  • Be confident! The audience is your captive. They live and breathe by your words now, so don’t worry about it!
  • If you can say it out loud, you should have it written down!
  • If you can show it as a live demonstration, you can videotape or record it in some way for people who cannot attend. You can save a great deal of energy if you can make a presentation that an audience will enjoy and retain whether you are there or not.

At the end of your presentation, thank your audience for their attention, make any kind of evaluation sheets/methods available and record your own feedback in writing while it is still fresh.

Question: How do you reward yourself for a job well done?

You liked it when it was in Die Hard IV

Published by NiteMayr on April 28, 2008

YouTube – Flyleaf – “I’m So Sick”

Oh so many days have gone…

It’s not so much that I bore easily, it’s just that when I finish reading whatever and I’m sure that I’ve accomplished my projects for the day, I just can’t stay away from the the old blog poster tool. I don’t even know what I’m gonna write most times. It’s kind of an exercise to practice my touch typing, as it is poor.

Now.

That all said, Jen and I are both working our way through the vocal solo tours on Rock Band (Me on Medium, Jen on Easy). Careful readers or longtime readers will know that Jen is some kind of mutant “sing-along” game player where she can just hum along and rock the socks off of these games, which makes her choice to play on easy somewhat perplexing. I think she’s just trying to score easy achievement points.

Yes, I have added a bunch of DLC to the game (Nine Inch Nails, Punk content and some alternative stuff). As I write this Jen is singing “Buddy Holly”.

Which leads into why the song appears at the top of this post; I kept hearing this song and was even aware of FlyLeaf (I’m fairly certain it appears in my iTunes collections) but could not place the song when Jen was singing it a while ago. Now I do; it was on the screen when Justin “Jeepers Creepers” Long was typing away on his Movie OS terminal before Bruce Willis came knocking in Die Hard 4 (Now with more smirking death).

My Dad said he dug on this when he saw the movie.

Oh well.

Speaking of ol’ Dad. We watched the new Billy Connolly “Was it something I said” stand up act this weekend, I’ve watched it a couple times at this point. I’m not a big fan of the majority of it as it was borne of “Look at the trappings of my wealth and listen to me bemoan them and aren’t men and women different?” I enjoyed a bit of the religious commentary and the parts about door theft; but I think Billy has pulled a bit far from his roots and forgotten what makes him so funny – the common touch.

Then there was one more thing this weekend:

What silly notion led the Bishop to use a man who was wealthy all his life and died young after NOT fighting against the Germans in World War One as an example of a “Good Catholic”

It seems to me that any Saint that was wealthy all their life should have their Sainthood revoked on principal as they never actually forsook their material wealth.

That’s just me.

Oh; and the reward for being a “Good Catholic” — Death at 24 and posthumous rewards.

I’d rather be a good person in this life and live a long life surrounded by those who benefited from my good works (even if they didn’t know I did it).

That’s just me.